-a food blog by K.P. Wee, author of "The 1988 Dodgers: Reliving the Championship Season," "John Cangelosi: The Improbable Baseball Journey of the Undersized Kid from Nowhere to World Series Champion," and "Tom Candiotti: A Life of Knuckleballs"

Category: Mexican

It was around 7:40 p.m. on a rainy night in Vancouver when I walked into My Barbeque Hut located on Commercial Drive and East 1st Avenue (1678 Commercial Drive, Vancouver).

Wanting to try something with meat, I looked at their menu board, which was broken into four categories: Mexican, Afghani, Mediterranean, and BBQ. My BBQ Hut seems to be in a shared location with a meat store as when you walked to the end of the store, there’s this older gentleman who sells spices and chili sauces and raw meats.

The guy who is actually manning My BBQ Hut was busy then, so I had some time to check out the menu board. I was wondering about the rabbit meat that was on there – as I’ve never tried this before – and when the guy was finally ready for me, I asked for Lamb Karahi – which was lamb stew – but he abruptly said they didn’t have it. I wondered about rabbit meat, but he said something abruptly about them not having it and needing 24-hour notice.

He then said they had Ghormeh Lamb and roast chicken, so I requested the former. He told me it would take 10 minutes and suggested a beverage in the coolers behind me. I picked an orange-flavoured Jarritos, which is a popular brand of Mexican soft drink.

Maybe my taste buds betrayed me, but I didn’t find this Jarritos to be any different from an orange soft drink that we can find easily in Canada. And since the guy charged me C$12.50, with a tax of 5% and the ghormeh lamb being C$8.55, the Jarritos was a pricey C$3.35.

The ghormeh lamb, meanwhile, was their “daily special” of lamb served with rice. It had some salad and potatoes too.

I would say that, yes, a couple pieces of the lamb felt delicious because of the spices he used, but overall the meal was very ordinary. Looking at the picture, you can see it’s nothing special.

Since My BBQ Hut closes at 10pm, it is reasonable to expect them to have meat or meat selections when it’s still not even 8pm yet. Or perhaps they are so busy that they sell out their meats early. I know when the guy was preparing my order, a woman came in and wanted donair but he abruptly told her to “go next door” because they had run out.

Well, no rabbit meat. I will still say this is one-and-done. A couple bites of the lamb were yummy but otherwise it was so-so. Plus, there are so many choices on Commercial, so if the guy wants to be abrupt to customers, hey, that’s his loss.

Thanks to the Vancouver Canadians Baseball Club for arranging lunch from Chipotle Mexican Grill to be brought over to the ballpark late in the baseball season one Tuesday afternoon in August.

Every Canadians staff member got to receive a complimentary item, and I chose the Steak Bowl. To be playful, I just copied what my manager wanted – he wanted a chicken bowl with all the salsas and “you can even throw the napkin into the bowl as well.” I said that I wanted a steak bowl with all the salsas too but minus the napkin. Haha.

Again, thanks to the Vancouver Canadians Baseball Club and Chipotle for making this meal happen.

It was another trip to Mexi Cali on Dunbar and West 28th. This was a Sunday afternoon and they had NFL football on their flatscreen. (Alas, it was the Denver Broncos, a team I’ve never liked, beating the Minnesota Vikings.)

I had the Beef Quesadilla plus Mexi Fries with Slushy Limonada for C$6.99. I thought the fries this time weren’t crunchy enough. So, not as good as the ones I’d had before. The quesadilla was great. The shells were soft and the beef tasted fine. Oh, with the quesadilla you had a choice of either beef or chicken.

I visited Tacofino Taco Bar for a second time a week ago, but unfortunately, I found out that they had a reduced menu from 3 to 5 p.m. when I got there just after 3:00. Apparently, they had only four items during that window – but hey, they were still busy nonetheless!

With only four items to choose from, I went with the Pork Al Pastor and Fish Tacos. I was really hoping to try the lamb birria again, but they didn’t have it until 5:00.

Pork Al Pastor Tacos – C$6.00

Fish Tacos – C$6.00

Obviously, it’s best to come back to Tacofino at 5:00 in the future to take advantage of their full menu!

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About “Let’s Eat Out Every Other Week”

KP Wee, the writer of this food blog, is a published author from Vancouver, Canada. He has written several books, including "Tom Candiotti: A Life of Knuckleballs" and "Fess Up, Jessup!" Check out KP's other food blog at letseatoutonceaweek.wordpress.com. He can be contacted at: kp.wee.is@gmail.com

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TOM CANDIOTTI: A LIFE OF KNUCKLEBALLS (MCFARLAND PUBLISHING)

The End of the Montreal Jinx: Boston’s Short-Lived Glory in the Historic Bruins-Canadiens Rivalry, 1988-1994